Razer Kraken Pro V2

The Kraken Pro V2 is Razer's follow-up to its straightforward wired Kraken Pro gaming headset. Besides a slightly less bulky design, this new model is very similar to the original, down to the same $79.99 price tag. It sounds great despite some weak treble response, and stands as a very solid, comfortable gaming headset for a reasonable price.

Design

The Kraken Pro V2 looks very much like the Razer ManO'War, only wired and without the colored lighting. It's available in black, green, or white versions, each of which has a circular earcup design with a wide ring of metal speaker grille-like material surrounding a flat circle bearing the Razer logo. The earpads are also circular, made of memory foam covered by black faux leather. The earcups are mounted on metal rings that let them pivot up and down slightly, and the rings flow seamlessly into the metal of the headband. The top of the headband is wrapped in the same black faux leather, and the underside is covered in padded mesh. The boom microphone is mounted on a flexible tube, and retracts almost completely into the left earcup when not in use.

A 4.5-foot cable is permanently attached to the left earcup and wrapped in fabric. An inline remote sits 14 inches down from the headset and features a volume wheel and a sliding microphone mute switch. The cable terminates in a four-pole 3.5mm headphone plug, which will work with most modern home consoles, handheld gaming systems, and mobile devices. If you're using a PC with separate headphone and microphone jacks, Razer still has you covered: The headset comes with an additional 6.5-foot cable that terminates in two three-pole 3.5mm plugs, functioning as a very long Y-splitter.

Game Performance

I played Shadow Warrior 2 and Mad Max with the Kraken Pro V2 over GeForce Now on the Nvidia Shield TV. Both games sounded balanced, with sculpting that puts most of the power behind the low-mids and high-mids. The gunshots and explosions from my many weapons in Shadow Warrior 2 sound full and distinct, and the crude dialogue from Lo Wang and the various characters he interacts with is crisp and clear. Mad Max strikes a similar balance between the whining rumble of the lighter vehicles' engines and the deranged ranting of the people of the wasteland.

The Kraken Pro V2 is a stereo headset with no processing tricks to simulate surround sound. Fortunately, the surround imaging between the two earcups is strong, giving good lateral directional sense. In both Shadow Warrior and Mad Max, I could hear attacks clearly coming from the left, right, and front based on the stereo mix. The effect is aided by the headset's sound profile, which highlights low-mids more than the deep sub-bass sounds that don't provide much sense of direction.

I also played Uncharted 4: A Thief's End on the PlayStation 4, and the Kraken Pro V2 showed the same performance. Gunfire in multiplayer mode sounds punchy, with each weapon's sound easy to pick out. The soundtrack is full and epic, fitting the game's style, and deep sub-bass audio is given modest presence against the low-mids.

Music Performance

For music, the Kraken Pro V2 is very bass heavy, packing plenty of low-end power but lacking much high-end presence. The headset handled our bass test track, The Knife's "Silent Shout," with ease. The kick drum hits and deep bass synth notes get plenty of head-rattling force at maximum (and unsafe) volumes without a hint of distortion.

The headset's tendency to err toward the low end is apparent on tracks with prominent treble in the mix. The bagpipes in The Real Mackenzies' "Chip" lacks the prominent edge necessary to overcome the bass drum beat, and Paul McKenzie's signature raspiness doesn't come through very well. The opening to Yes' "Roundabout" gets plenty of low-mid presence in the opening strings, but less of the texture of each string pluck.

Conclusions

The Razer Kraken Pro V2 gaming headset is a good value thanks to its very comfortable design and solid audio performance. Its heavily padded earcups feel more plush than the Logitech G231 Prodigy, and it puts more power behind the low end, though it doesn't present quite as much treble crispness. We lean a bit more toward the Editors' Choice Prodigy G231 for its overall sound quality, but the two headsets are practically neck and neck if you prefer one design over the other. And if you want the best wired gaming headset out there and can spare no expense, the Turtle Beach Elite Pro Tournament is our favorite in the cateogry.

About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews. See Full Bio